


Orion's Bane

by ClaraKeanen



Series: Orion's Bane [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-05-24 02:23:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6138097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClaraKeanen/pseuds/ClaraKeanen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry, Hermione, Luna and Draco move to Forks while on an assignment from the Ministry: to study the magical creatures in Northern America while classifying new species. They expect to find magical creatures. They don't expect to find vampires and giant wolves. Adventure and comedy ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Of Brunch and Boys

**Author's Note:**

> (A/N: Welcome, welcome fellow fanfiction fanatics! Just so we are aware: all of the characters who died in the Canon are dead in my story, as well as Hermione's parents. Lucius Malfoy is in Azkaban, Narcissa considers herself to be a widow and has effectively divorced him. Draco has been given a second chance and, to his continual frustration, must spend it with members of the Golden Trio or else he faces Azkaban. I've read a lot of fun Harry Potter x Twilight fanfiction, and I figured I would give it a shot as well! HP is 6 months after the events of DH, Twilight is after the events of New Moon, except the Volturi aren't a thing and Edward just came back fearing for Bella's death. I'll show that part in this first chapter here. I welcome all sorts of feedback! These stories are my way of working on my craft, so please please please feel free to be honest and constructive with your criticism! Let's see where this goes. Thanks everyone!)

The dinner in the Burrow had burst into fire mere seconds ago, and Hermione was frantically trying to douse the flames while simultaneously conjuring jugs of water to do so. "Really, Ron, you are being so overdramatic!" she yelled. Ron, the perpetrator of the dinner disaster, only fumed in his seat. "Is destroying dinner really necessary?"

"Oh, it was rubbish anyway," he grumbled, glaring at the turkey as if he was trying to light it on fire again.

"Ronald Weasley!" Molly yelling in a shrill voice, "I put a lot of work into that dinner!"

"Yes, my dear, and it was lovely," Arthur added. "I'm sure you can conjure up something just as delicious while Ronald," he said, glaring at Ron, "will be more than happy to help clean up."

Ron, finally finding words, shot straight up out of his seat. "How can you all be so bloody calm and okay with this? Hermione and Harry are leaving us and taking, that, that-"

"His name is Draco." Hermione calmly replied.

"-Weasel with them!" Ron yelled.

"Don't forget Luna." Harry stated, wiping his mouth on his napkin and standing up to help Hermione clear away the charred dinner.

"What? And Luna?" Ron shrieked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, we've been over this. Multiple times!"

Ron scoffed. "I thought you were kidding!"

"Why on earth would we joke about something like this?"

"Because I never thought that you would actually leave me!"

Hermione rolled her eyes again. "Oh please Ronald, we aren't leaving you."

"You're moving to bloody who knows where in the United States without even asking me-"

"Ronald!" Hermione yelled, finally shutting him up. Her glare turned towards him, and he gulped nervously. "I don't need your permission to do anything. Besides, last time I checked, you were too busy cavorting with the Chuddly Cannons and your so-called "team managers" to care about what I was doing."

Ron blushed angrily. "I told you, Hermione, that was nothing."

All he got in reply was a scoff. Waving her wand, Hermione stalked off into the kitchen, taking the ruined dinner with her. George, who had been eerily quiet throughout the exchange, whistled and hit Ron on the back. "Nice one, mate."

Ron shoved George's arm away and turned his furious gaze towards Ginny. "Ginny, how are you okay with this? Harry's leaving too!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "And you think that I can stop him?"

"Well, you could at least try! You are his girlfriend after all."

Harry coughed, suddenly violently blushing. "I'm going to go see if they need help in the kitchen" he muttered, before silently jogging out of the room.

"Well, what the bloody hell was that?" Ron looked on incredulously.

Ginny glared at him, whispering violently. "I told him we should take a break, you dolt!" Ron turned and looked at Ginny, amazed.

"But why?" he asked.

She sighed, leaned back into her chair, and rolled her eyes. "He's been incredibly depressed ever since the final battle. He keeps having dreams about his parents and Sirius and hasn't been much fun to be around."

"So? You love him?"

She sighed again, sadly this time, as she stared down at the table. "Of course I do. I think I always will. But I still have some time left at Hogwarts, and I want to be free to meet other people."

George whistled again, and Ginny shot him a look that stopped him, mid-whistle.

"Wow." That was all Ron said, as he sat back down into his chair, looking stunned.

"It's not forever. Just a while." Ginny added quietly. "He knows I still love him. I just need time."

Arthur, who had been sitting quietly this entire time, put his hand on top of Ginny's. "You both do, my dear. And as hard as this will be, I think it will be for the best. And you," he said, turning to look at Ron, "you need to learn to control your temper. You can't accidentally set things on fire every time you get angry. You hurt Hermione, and she's moving on. If you want to have any sort of relationship with her, you need to let her go. And I wouldn't hold out hope for a romantic one, if I were you. We all saw those tabloids." Arthur murmured, looking down at the table.

Ron sighed, putting his head into his hands. "I know," he replied. "But why did it have to be Malfoy?"

"She's not dating Malfoy!" Ginny argued defensively.

"I know that," he groaned. "I just don't like it."

George chuckled, leaning forward in his seat. "He's a chick magnet, that one."

Ron groaned again, hitting his head against the table.

Ginny turned and shot George a withering look. "You're not helping."

George grinned. "I'm not trying to."

Molly hustled around the small kitchen of the Burrow while Hermione threw what was left of the burned food into the fire. Hermione was angrily scrubbing the charred food off of the plates, cursing Ron under her breath.

"Now, I don't mean to make you frustrated my dear, but are you sure this is the wisest course of action?" Molly questioned carefully.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, I believe so." Her voice caught, and she cleared her throat. "This will be good."

Hermione turned back silently to her washing and Molly watched, smiling sadly to herself. Merlin knew this poor young girl had been through a lot.

Death took a toll on them all, but it hit poor Hermione especially hard. Most days she sat in a chair by the fireplace, her eyes eerily empty. Dead looking, really. The news of a research position in the Ministry that meant relocating to Washington in the United States to study various magical creatures and document new species brought light back to Hermione's eyes. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that she immediately volunteered for the position, along with Luna Lovegood, who was also mourning the death of her father. It also wasn't a surprise that they were selected almost immediately, and that Harry had volunteered to join them. What was a surprise was that Draco Malfoy insisted upon joining them as well.

Actually, Molly thought to herself, she wasn't that surprised at all. Ever since his court hearing, Draco had been oddly protective of Hermione. In fact, Draco was the only person that could force Hermione to eat for almost a month. Molly remembered when he showed up three days after the funeral, bursting into the room with a container of fish and chips from the local pub. "Where is she?" he demanded. Hermione was sitting in her armchair near the fireplace, staring out the window. His glance landed on her and he was in front of her in the blink of an eye.

"Eat this," he said, shoving the food in her face.

"No, thank you," Hermione replied softly, staring out the window.

"You don't have a choice in the matter," Draco growled, putting his face in front of her own. "Eat. This."

Hermione looked at him, dazed. "But I'm not hungry."

"Yes, you are. So eat it."

"No."

"I'm not leaving until you do." Draco glared at her, watching her resolve weaken.

"Fine," she replied softly, shocking everyone in the room. George had dropped the china dishes he was carrying to Molly, and for once, Molly didn't say a thing.

Sure enough, Hermione finished the food. Draco left silently, returning that evening with dinner, and every subsequent day making sure she ate until he arrived one day and found her eating soup of her own accord. Then, he only showed up once a weekend.

The sound of clanging pans brought Molly back from her reverie, and she watched as Hermione silently glided around the room, putting dishes away and conjuring up a new pasta dish for dinner.

Yes, Molly thought, I think this will be a good idea after all.


	2. Of Forks and Brooms

The Burrow had been in complete and utter chaos for the past few hours. Naturally, Harry had waited to pack all of his things until the very last minutes, so when Draco opened the door with his charmed suitcase he narrowly missed Harry's Quidditch equipment flying through the door.

"Sorry Malfoy!" he heard Harry yell from across the room. George and Ron were trying to coax Hermione's cat Crookshanks into his travelling case, and the Kneazle was doing everything in his power to ignore them. Ginny was doing her best to calm a frantic Hedwig, and Hermione was flicking her want back and forth as countless trunks travelled down the steps and disappeared into a small beaded bag.

Draco chuckled dryly. "Bloody hell, Potter. Why doesn't this surprise me?"

Harry attempted to shoot Malfoy a look, but only succeeded in hitting himself in the forehead with the books he was flinging into one of his trunks. "You could help!" he yelled, exasperated.

Draco smirked. "I think I'd rather watch the show."

Hermione rolled her eyes from across the room and huffed impatiently. "Draco, could you at least help George and Ron get Crookshanks into his travelling case?"

Sighing dramatically, Draco made a show of stomping over to the cat, who looked at Draco warily as he approached. Crookshanks yawned, stretched back, and gracefully leaped off the couch onto the floor. Padding towards Draco, he rubbed up against his leg before trotting into the travelling case. Draco cast his wand at the case and made sure it was locked securely. He didn't want to try his luck with THAT cat anymore today.

He could feel Ron's furious gaze on the back of his head. "How the bloody hell did you do that?" Ron whispered between his gritted teeth.

Draco made a show of checking his watch and adjusting his collar as he spoke. "Crooks and I have a reached an understanding of sorts. You know, from one civilized man to another."

He could practically feel the steam coming from Ron's ears as he finished his remark. Draco had never been a fan of the red-haired Gryffindor, and he had liked him even less when he tried to pursue Hermione after the final battle. Not that he was even remotely interested in Hermione, mind you. In fact, he greatly disliked her for most of his life. But when he saw her at Malfoy Manor, and when she did her part to keep him out of Azkaban, and when she looked at him like he was a person and not a monster… Things had changed. And as much as he hated to admit it, there was a tiny part of him that had started thinking about her in a much more friendly way for much longer than he dared to think about.

Ron, meanwhile, was desperately trying to get to past George so he could hex Draco into oblivion, but Hermione caught his eye and glared at him until he backed down. Scowling, he turned on his heel and stomped away into the kitchen.

A cheerful whoop broke Draco from his reverie. "Finally!" Harry exclaimed. "I think that's everything! Mione, how's it going for you?"

Hermione scoffed, tossing her soft brown curls over her shoulder. "Oh please, I've been packed for a week! I just packed the last of my books. Malfoy, do you have everything?"

Draco nodded quickly. "Yes, I have all of my trunks. And the house-elves at Malfoy Manor are willing to help with whatever we need."

Hermione turned to face him, a sheepish grimace on her face. "Do you think they've-"

"Forgiven you for SPEW?" Draco chuckled. "Of course they have. After the way you treated Dobby, they know you did it out of love."

Hermione's brow unfurrowed and she shot Draco a grateful smile. Merlin, did she have a beautiful smile. "Thank you, Draco," she replied softly.

He stiffened in response and shot her a small grin. "Of course. Now, where's blondie?"

"Right here!" Luna sang as she skipped into the room. "I was just in the kitchen helping Mrs. Weasley. She's been having quite a problem with nargles, you know."

Harry shot Hermione a look as she swallowed a giggle. Luna had been at the Burrow all week, setting all sorts of various charms to protect the Weasleys from unpleasant creatures that Molly didn't believe existed. It took all of Molly's patience to not forbid the girl from entering the kitchen, but Harry had stressed the importance of letting Luna help in her own, special way.

"Well, all right then. I think we're ready!" Harry exclaimed in a half-whisper, turning to look at Hermione. She shot Harry a small smile, tears pooling in her eyes.

"It's time," she whispered breathlessly. She shook her head back and patrolled around the room, making sure everyone had shrunken their luggage properly and that it was safely stored in their pockets; they certainly didn't want to lose anything when apparating. Only Crookshank's and Hedwig's respective travelling cases remained at their normal size.

Hermione bit her lip. "Draco, do you think-"

"Taina!" Draco hollered. A sharp crack filled the room, and a small house-self in a blue dress greeted them warmly.

"How can I serve you Master Draco?"

"Please Taina," he smiled warmly, "you can just call me Draco."

"Yes Master Draco!" she replied with a soft smile.

Draco shook his head and shot her another smile. "Would you be willing to take Crookshanks and Hedwig to the house in Forks?"

"Of course sir!" she replied. "Taina will take them right away."

"Thank you," he replied, and with a sharp crack the three small creatures were gone.

At the sound of the crack the Weasley's had gathered back into the room. Ginny looked at them all, tears in her eyes. "I suppose it's time."

"Yes," Hermione replied. "I suppose it is."

Ginny ran straight into Hermione's arms, sobbing as they said their goodbyes and Ginny repeated her promise to visit as much as she could. Harry was next, followed by Luna, and slowly the three made their way down the line, saying goodbye to their family. Draco stood back, feeling uncomfortable as he watched Hermione hug Molly and Arthur, and blatantly angry while she hugged Ron.

Ron grasped onto Hermione like he would never see her again. She tried to loosen up from the hug, but he held her tight against him. "It'll be okay Ron, we'll see each other again. Besides, Draco and Harry will keep us safe."

Ron growled. "You won't let me forget it!"

Hermione finally broke the embrace and pushed him away, smoothing her coat against her skirt. She turned to look at Harry and Luna. Harry was caught in Molly's embrace as she sobbed, and Luna was talking animatedly with George about all of the creatures she was sure to see. Ron cleared his throat and shuffled his feet, shooting her a pained gaze. "Just be okay, Hermione. Promise me that."

Hermione nodded the tears away that had started rolling down her face. "I promise."

With that, Harry and Luna pulled away from the Weasley's and joined Hermione and Draco, who had started moving closer and closer to her when Ron was hugging her.

"Well," Harry said, softly smiling at his ragtag group of roommates, "let's go then! Hermione, can you take Draco as your side-along?"

Hermione nodded her head. "Of course!" she responded, perhaps a bit too emphatically she thought.

"Perfect!" Harry exclaimed. "You know the address?" Hermione and Draco once again nodded their heads in assent. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" Harry grabbed Luna's hand and pulled out his wand, which started to glow a familiar green.

"To Forks!" he hollered excitedly, and with two sharp cracks the four disapparated away from the Burrow.


	3. Of Houses and Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for the reviews! Don't worry, this story will get dark. I just want to make sure I do it justice This is a pretty slow chapter, in that I'm just trying to set the scene for the rest of the novel. I really wanted to create a magical home for everyone so it's a lot of description. I promise there will be more action soon. Also, does anyone have any specific ships they would like to see here? My original thought was Draco/Hermione, but Hermione/Jacob Black is just so darn tempting…. And what am I going to do about poor Harry? Any and all insight/ideas welcome Enjoy!

The first thing Hermione noticed was the overwhelming smell of pine trees. Then, the oppressive muggy air, followed by the echoes of birds chirping through the forest. She opened her eyes and gasped in awe at the scene surrounding her.

The forest was like something out of a dream. The deciduous pines stretched up into the sky, their tops beyond her sight; ancient guardians from a time when magic flowed freely. The sloping terrain curved lazily downhill and a small river rushed by, gurgling and laughing as it bounced along. Fog hung heavily in the air, but every few feet or so a small ray of sun was able to burst through the fog and the trees to reveal how truly green the forest floor was. Decomposing logs had fallen this way and that, and squirrels – squirrels! – could be seen running around, scolding each other as they tried to protect their hoard.

Hermione turned from the silent appreciation of her new office towards Harry, inhaling the fresh forest air deeply. She heard a small cough behind her and glanced over at Draco, who was staring unhappily at the ground in front of him.

Hermione smirked coldly. "Afraid of a little mud?"

Draco shot her a dark glare and muttered something under his breath. Harry cleared his throat, embarrassed by the underlying tension in the question. While he had noticed a newfound tenderness between Hermione and Draco, he knew better than anyone that they had a long way to go, and he didn't want to start this new chapter in their lives with an argument.

Blonde hair suddenly danced across his face, and faster than he could blink Luna had grabbed hold of Hermione's hand and began sashaying through the forest towards the road. "It's not much farther now, Hermione! The will-o-wisps are glowing brighter the closer we get."

Hermione softly smiled. Being close to people after the war didn't come easily to her, but her relationship with Luna had always been full of warmth. Luna was the exception. "I'm really looking forward to seeing the house! When the Ministry said they were constructing one here just for us, I had no idea what to expect!" Hermione replied.

Draco chuckled. "Feel free to thank me in advance."

Hermione whirled on her heel and stopped to look at him. "Why should I thank you?"

"Didn't I tell you? I enlisted Draco to help me design the layout," Harry replied.

"Yes, well, it's good for business," Draco responded, brushing the compliment aside. While he certainly wanted to be in the country to keep an eye on Hermione, the fact of the matter was he would have moved here regardless. He took over his father's assets upon Lucius' incarceration, and was quick to invest in property which he then redesigned and sold to the highest bidder. He would have to be on the road a lot, but it felt nice to have a home base of sorts. And even better that he had acquaintances there.

Hermione smirked teasingly. "I will make sure to give you enough constructive criticism to last you a lifetime."

Harry barked in laughter while Draco groaned. "Gee, thanks Professor."

Hermione turned around, smiling smugly. "You're welcome!"

"We're here!" Luna excited exclaimed. The four had arrived at the end of a newly paved road, and they stopped in stared at their new home. The house was an unassuming two story with a front wraparound porch. It was painted a light brown color, and the chairs decorating the front porch were made of polished cherry wood and were engraved with the four Hogwarts house seals, one per chair. Hermione gasped in delight and allowed herself to be dragged up the driveway as Luna continued her running narrative about all of the plants she was sure to grow right out front.

"Isn't that a perfect place for a garden? Of course, our magical plants will have to be hidden, but I've always love roses and snapdragons. Isn't it funny that the flower is named "snapdragon" but that it's actually where the snapdragons live?" Luna exclaimed.

"Okay, now, while this looks like a muggle lock, it actually charmed so that it will only let the four of us enter. Anyone else needs express, spoken permission by one of us, and that can be changed at any time." Harry announced to the group. He stepped past Hermione and Luna, who were gazing around excitedly, and opened the door. He felt the warmth of the magic as it recognized him and the others, and with a grin he swung the door open wide.

Hermione squealed and darted inside the house. Luna followed after her, shouting, while Draco smirked and strolled in like he owned the place.

Harry walked in and whistled slowly. The house was much, much bigger on the inside. Every wall seemed to be made out of that same cherry wood. There was a small foyer upon entering with ample room to store coats and shoes. Harry removed his shoes and stepped towards a small hallway. He had only taken a few steps when the house opened up. He saw a beautiful combination library and sitting room to the right, complete with a fireplace and the couches exactly like the couches in the common rooms at Hogwarts. There were even embroidered pillows for each of them; two Gryffindor pillows, one Ravenclaw, and one Slytherin.

"Don't worry, I have a Hufflepuff pillow hidden in the hall closet in case we ever need it for a visitor," Draco announced behind him.

"I gotta say Draco, and I've only seen one room, but I love what you've done with the place!" Harry replied.

"Well, thanks. Come along this way Potter, you haven't even seen the best yet!" Draco replied firmly. Harry sadly left the beautiful library and continued down the hallway. They passed a bathroom on the left and had only taken a few more steps when the ceiling, which had been at a standard height for the rest of the house, suddenly became vaulted and raised to a point. Harry stepped into a large room which consisted of two separate areas, a kitchen with what looked like brand new appliances, (Hermione and Luna loved to cook the muggle way, much to Draco's chagrin,) and a dining room. While the ceiling was nowhere near as tall as the ceiling in Hogwarts, it still reminded Harry quite nicely of the place he had called home for seven years. And, to his delight, it appeared to be enchanted in the same way. Right now, the ceiling was charmed to look like the tall shelves in Hogwart's library.

Harry moved away from the dining room, which was completely encased by the cherry wood, and into the kitchen. A giant sliding window comprised most of the wall of the back of the house, and there was a porch in back, as well as a manicured lawn that looked suspiciously like an amateur Quidditch field.

Harry turned to Draco, grinning. "Is that what I think it is?"

Draco scoffed. "Of course, Potter. As if I could live without one."

"Harry!" Harry heard Hermione's voice coming from the basement. "You have to come see this!"

Harry turned to look at Draco. "Where are they?"

Draco turned back down the hallway. "The doorway to the basement is right before the kitchen. I charmed it so that you can't find it unless you're looking for it. You'll see why."

Harry and Draco trotted down the stairs into the basement and Harry grinned at the sight. There was a full potions laboratory as well as what looked like an underground greenhouse. Hermione was busy running around and looking at the equipment while Luna was carefully examining the greenhouse and muttering to herself about the proper living arrangements for the knargles and will-o-wisps.

"This lab is brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes shining. "It's perfect for our work! And that's not all! There's a dueling room down the hallway, and what looks like an underground pool-"

"-Because the last time I swam was SO much fun," Harry muttered.

"-And Luna said the dueling room doubles as a home theatre!"

Harry turned in surprise. "Really?" he said to Draco.

Draco just shrugged. "She asked for it."

Hermione, suddenly remembering that she had to unpack, suddenly ran past Draco and Harry and sprinted up the stairs. "Luna! We haven't seen our rooms yet!"

"I'm coming!" Luna squealed as she darted past the boys. They followed suit and the four of them ran in a line, up one flight of stairs, down into the foyer, up a second flight of stairs, and entered a large common room.

"Hermione and Luna, your rooms are to the right. Draco's and mine are to the left," Harry clarified.

"How will I know which one is mine?" Luna asked.

"You'll know," Harry smiled. "Go to the left down your hallway."

Luna and Hermione walked down the hallway and turned left. Shrieks of delight could be heard from the room as Luna danced around. Luna's room was painted a soft, light blue color, and all of her furniture made it look like it had been stolen from a fairy tale. Her dresser, desk, and bedstand were all made of knotted wood, and the four corners of the room held enchanted trees with flowers that would change color and variety every day, she would soon learn. A large window graced her wall, which overlooked the Quidditch field.

Hermione left Luna to her wonder and went across the hallway to her own room. She gasped in surprise.

Her room was perfect. That was all she could think. It was absolutely perfect. All of her furniture was made of a polished, light chestnut, and the queen sized bed on her right wall was covered with a fleece quilt that was made up of different designs, each design the cover of a well-loved book she had read during her time at Hogwarts. Each design was colored in such a way that when each separate piece was put together, she could see each individual book cover but she could see the big picture as well, the Gryffindor house crest. The walls of her room were a light cream, and as she took a second look she realized that all of her furniture was in a very vintage style, except for her bed. While Luna had a canopy bed – the canopy once again held up by four magical trees – Hermione's bed had a canopy that only draped against the right wall, and the two magical trees that held it up were carved to make room for her favorite books. She soon discovered that the shelves would adjust to accommodate the size of the books she placed there. And instead of flowers growing from the trees, delicate and intricate roses were carved into the wood, and she would learn that they glowed softly at night, comforting her as she fell asleep.

The wall across from the doorway had a small window on the left side of the wall. The right side was practically covered floor to ceiling with bookshelves. Her dresser and desk was on the left wall across from the bed, as well as the door to her walk-in closet and personal bathroom. Shorter bookshelves were to the left of the doorway, and the wall to the right was bare, perfect for her to hang pictures or artwork or potential paper ideas she had.

Hermione grinned in delight and ran down the hallway, veering left after she passed the common room, and ran straight into Draco, hugging him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered as tears ran down her face. "Thank you."

Draco coughed uncomfortably but held her tightly just the same. "Of course," he whispered gently.

After a few moments, Hermione pulled away and looked briefly around Draco's room. It was decorated in his Slytherin green – which surprised no one – but like Hermione's room, he had a multitude of bookshelves. Clearing her throat, Hermione blushed and backed out of Draco's room and straight into Harry's. She turned around grinning when she entered. His room was that warm Gryffindor red and was certainly Gryffindor themed. Harry had some bookshelves, but the focal point of his room was his enchanted wall. Hermione didn't know how he had done it, but somehow the wall mirrored the exact events of whatever Quidditch game he wished to watch. The enchanted painting was right above his desk, and Harry was grinning like an idiot. Hermione shook her head and sat on his bed to watch the first Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw game of the season.

Two hours later the group met up in their common room and sat, chatting about their favorite parts of the house. The house elves had arrived soon after they had discovered their bedrooms, and Crookshanks and Hedwig had immediately torn around the house looking for their special spot. Crooks was currently napping on Hermione's bed, and Hedwig was perched in the common room. Thanks to their magic, it had only take around an hour to unpack, and even though they were exhausted, they couldn't stop talking about the new house. Well, everyone but Draco. Flattered as he was by their praise, Draco still felt uncomfortable contributing frequently to the conversation. Instead, he listened to their conversation and smiled, happy that he had done a good job.

Hermione finally yawned and glanced at the enchanted clock painting on the wall, which had just struck eleven. "I think it's time we call it a night," she said as she stretched.

"I agree," Luna added softly. "The wisps are quite insistent that we visit town tomorrow. And not just because we need groceries."

Harry smiled and stood up. "Well then, I think it's a good idea then. Those wisps certainly sound like they know what they're doing."

Luna smiled, gazing off somewhere in the distance. "Of course they do, Harry."

Draco sighed softly and rolled his eyes. Hermione shot him a look and he turned and nodded to Luna in response, looking as penitent as possible.

Hermione smirked and yawned again. She stood up and went to hug Luna, and afterwards turned to the boys and wished them a good night. Harry walked over and hugged her as well and she relished holding her best friend in her arms. Harry and Luna exchanged hugs as well, and Hermione watched as Draco awkwardly stood looking at her and Luna, not sure what to do. Finally, he shook Hermione's hand, to her amusement, and he turned to shake Luna's hand, but she ambushed him with a hug instead. He patted her back and cleared his throat uncomfortably, and Hermione giggled at this sight.

Leaving the others behind her, she walked into her room, shooed Crookshanks off her pillow, and laid in her bed watching the roses twinkle above her. They had been in this house for less than a day, but somehow, she knew that it was home.


	4. Of Cats and Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A rather short update today, I'm afraid. I almost didn't post it but I wanted to share something to tide you guys over with until later on this week! I'm giving a big graduate presentation that I've been prepping for all weekend, but don't worry – expect a lot more from this and my new story, "The Wonder that Keeps the Stars Apart" this weekend! Also, the beginning of a Phantom of the Opera fic may be appearing… We will see ;)

A heavy weight sat upon Hermione's chest. She coughed and tried to wiggle whatever was crushing her lungs off of her, but the weight remained. She groaned, opening her eyes, and was greeted with Crookshank's signature "Why-haven't-you-fed-me-yet-you-peasant" glare.

Hermione groaned again, picked him off up her chest and sat him down beside her. Turning her back, she hoped to get at least another hour of sleep before the big day, but Crookshanks would not be ignored. He jumped to the other side, moseyed on up to her head and swatted her face with his paw.

"Ow! Crookshanks!" Hermione clutched the side of her face and pushed him away. "FINE. You win. Just let me wake up."

Crookshanks, who looked rather pleased with himself, leapt gracefully off her bed, pranced over to her door, and began scratching. Hermione groaned again, this time much more loudly, and finally leapt out of bed and ran straight for the cat.

"MEOW!" Crookshanks shrieked. The two of them began tearing around the room and after Crooks had succeeded in knocking over her nightstand, he tripped over one of the small stacks of books in her room and Hermione was able to snatch him up.

"You love me, don't you Crookshanks? Huh, don't you?" Hermione loved to irritate him, and the more she rubbed her face into his belly and spoke to him like a baby, the angrier he got. Finally, he hissed again, and Hermione gave him one last kiss and threw him out the door. "Fine! Go find Draco, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to feed you."

And that's precisely what Crookshanks did. Draco, however, was even less of a morning person than Hermione, and threw multiple expletives at the darned cat as he trudged down the stairs and conjured up a gourmet breakfast.

"Wanker," Draco growled. Crookshanks merely ignored him and sat on his red velvet pillow, quietly munching away at his food.

Draco heard pounding down the stairs and Hermione and Luna burst into the scene. "Good morning!" Luna sang. Draco just scowled. "If I had known taking care of this bloody thing-"

"It's a cat!"

"-Would be part of the deal, I never would have signed up for this."

He heard a chuckling from the corner. Turning around, he saw Potter sitting casually in the corner clad in his Gryffindor robe, drinking something out of a mug. He wasn't sure what was in the mug, but whatever it was smelt like burned dirt. "Just have some coffee, Malfoy."

Draco scowled again. "If that tastes just like what it smells like, I'd rather snog a Basilisk."

"It's not that bad!" Hermione exclaimed. "Especially with some cream and sugar! Here, I'll fix you a cup."

Huffing, Draco shuffled over to the table. "It's the least you could do since I had to deal with that bloody-"

"DRACO."

Sighing, he didn't finish his sentence.

The roommates spent the next fifteen minutes or so in silence. Hermione whistled as she made omelets, Harry and Draco passed "The Daily Prophet" between the two of them, and Luna fluttered about the table, charming napkins to look like blobs, as far as Draco could tell.

"They look like blobs!" Draco whispered to Potter.

Harry shrugged, not raising his eyes from the paper. "Just go with it."

Hermione finally announced that breakfast was ready – not soon enough in Harry's opinion – and the four of them sat down to eat and discussed their plans for the day. Even though they had just arrived, Draco had to go out of town for the next five days to supervise the renovations at the Palais, the premiere magical opera house in the West. The others decided that they would spend the day exploring the town, buying supplies, and "gallivanting on the shoreline," which Harry begged and whined about until the girls finally gave in and said yes, they could do that too.

Breakfast didn't last much longer than that, and after cleaning the kitchen and packing a light suitcase, Draco said goodbye to the others. He shook Potter's hand, making him promise to keep an eye out on the girls – "They'll get into trouble without constant supervision, Potter" – and making Hermione promise to watch his room and make sure Harry didn't "jack any of his stuff," to which she rolled her eyes and agreed. Luna gave him a large hug, which still made Draco feel a little out of place, and ran down the hallway with Harry to write a list of everything that they would need. Draco and Hermione were left in the foyer, and after a few minutes of examining the walls and clearing their throats, Hermione came to a decision. She closed the space between her and Draco and promptly kissed him on the cheek.

Draco was stunned; about a thousand different thoughts were running through his head, but he couldn't think, he couldn't even move. He barely registered when Hermione pulled away and lectured him about being safe in a large muggle city and not trusting people who walked to close to you. He finally met her gaze, which stopped her incessant chattering. "I'll miss you too, Granger," he said, smiling smugly. And with a wink and a large crack! Draco Malfoy was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

“You cheated!” Jacob Black yelled from across the parking lot. Paul Lahote just grinned, tapping his foot and staring at an imaginary watch on his wrist.

“It’s not cheating when you’re just that fast,” he replied with a smirk. Quil and Embry barked out in laughter as the three younger men joined Paul in front of the automatic door. They continued to argue and jostle their way into the grocery store, only stopping when Mrs. Hill scolded them for knocking over the magazine rack.

“Sorry Mrs. Hill!” Embry quickly apologized. The old woman grinned back at Embry.

“It’s all right, Embry dear. Just be more careful, boys! You never know when you’ll knock something over that can’t be fixed!”

“Yes, Mrs. Hill!” they sang back to her. They began to walk down the deli aisle. It had only been a two hours since lunch, but these growing cubs were always starving. 

“So, Jake, how’s Bella?” Paul asked as he reached for a ham and turkey sandwich.

Jacob winced. “She’s doing okay. The Cullens are back, and when they tried to visit her she told them off, but she’s still having a rough time.”

Quil slapped Jacob on the back. “Ehh, Bella’s gonna be just fine. Because she is FINE.”

Glaring at Quil, Jacob punched him in the arm and sent him flying back towards Embry. Paul just laughed. “Don’t shoot the messenger, Black. He’s right, you chose well.”

“I didn’t choose her, I imprinted! But I know,” Jacob grinned mischeviously. “But if I ever hear you talking about her like that again-“

“Okay, okay, no schmoozing Bella! Got it!” Quil threw his hands up.

“And besides, if you should be schmoozing anyone’s girl, it should be Paul’s. Especially since he’s got a new one hanging off his arm each week!” 

All of the boys laughed at that. “Jacob’s right, you know!”

“Come on Paul – what’s your secret?” Quil pestered. “How do you snag all them chicks?”

Paul threw his shoulders back and smirked Quil. “What can I say, boys?” The pack turned the corner and headed down the canned foods aisle. “They flock to me! I can’t help it that I’m so beautiful!”

Laughing, he turned and glanced toward the other end of the aisle, and that’s when he saw her.

 

“Luna, is all of this really necessary?” Hermione asked as she rummaged through the grocery cart. She had been tasked to grab the essentials, and Luna had insisted on buying food for the knargles, will-o-wisps, and the great horned purple-speckled unipod (whatever that was).

Luna nodded happily. “Of course, Hermione! Didn’t you know that knargles loved spam? I’m thinking that if we hide it a few meters away from the house, it will keep them out of the garden!”

Hermione nodded, deciding that it would be easiest to just agree. “Well, if you think it’s a good idea, then by all means, buy all the spam you want!”

Luna grinned brightly and proceeded to pull dozens of cans off the shelf.

Hermione grimaced and covered her face with her hands. “I didn’t mean it literally!” she murmured.

“What? Did you say something dear?” Luna asked, whirling around to face her.

“No! Not at all,” Hermione quickly replied. She looked at the watch on her hand, and turned to look down towards the other end of the aisle. “Have you seen Harry? I told him he could buy the sweets, but it’s been almost half an hour – “

“HERMIONE!” She heard Harry shout. Turning towards the front of the store, she saw him race towards her, his arms full. “I got every single flavor of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream that I could carry!”

“Do you really think we are going to need all that ice cream? Harry, that’s more than we could ever possibly eat!” Hermione squealed.

“It’s perfect! We can serve it when we have company over.” Luna jumped in softly.

Hermione turned around to face her. “What company are we having over?”

Luna smiled brightly and gestured over her shoulder to the opposite end of the aisle. “Why those boys, of course!” 

Hermione peered around Luna’s small frame and studied the four boys standing at the end of the aisle. They were all tall, dark skinned young men who were topless – which was strange, considering it was pouring rain outside. The two boys on the right side of the aisle were gazing confusedly at the pile of spam in their cart, while the boy on the left looked amused. The young man in the middle, however, was staring at Luna like she was the sun.

“So maybe I missed something, but why is that guy staring at Luna? He's simpering, just like you did when Lockhart was teaching.” Harry whispered in Hermione’s ear.

Hermione shoved her elbow into Harry's side, ignoring the choice words he exclaimed in reply. “I did NOT simper!” she growled. “And I have no idea, but I think we should find out.”

“Good idea, I’ll go ask!” Harry said. Straightening up, he walked quickly down the aisle before Hermione could stop him. 

"Harry! Damn it!" she whispered angrily.

“Oh, let him go. Besides, won’t it be nice to have made new friends already? Draco will be so jealous when he gets back!” Luna chirped. “Now, let’s go check out and get this ice cream home before it melts! We certainly don’t want to serve runny ice cream to our guests.”

Shooting her best glare at Harry's retreating figure, Hermione silently followed Luna towards the front of the store.

 

“Okay, explain to me what happened one more time,” Hermione said, pacing the floor of the kitchen.

Harry sighed. “I told you. I just walked over and introduced myself, explained that we were new in town and had just moved into the new house a few miles outside of Forks, and that if they wanted to stop by later on today for ice cream they were more than welcome.”

Hermione continued to pace. “And they accepted, just like that? Did they even tell you their names?”

“No,” Harry replied, “but as they were leaving one of them was telling the guy who was staring at Luna not to worry, that it would work itself out. And another one said ‘Congrats Paul, you found yourself a beaut!’”

Hermione frowned, smacking her hands together. “What could they possibly mean?”

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Hermione!” Harry added. He was scooping leftover pancakes into his mouth while he watched her parade back and forth.

“Something just doesn’t feel right about them! Shirtless in a rainstorm?”

Harry shrugged. “Maybe they just didn’t want to ruin their shirts?”

Hermione shook her head. “No, that’s not it. What bothers me is the way that guy looked at Luna. He almost looked like – “ Hermione suddenly froze, and turned to face Harry. Seeing the look on her face, he dropped his fork onto his plate.

“Looked like what, Hermione? What are you thinking?”

Without a word, Hermione dashed off in the direction of their library. Sighing, Harry picked up his plate and trudged after her. He had only arrived in the room a few seconds after Hermione, but by the time he got into the room it looked like a war zone. Books were flying off the shelves and Hermione was furiously rifling through the pages of one called “Tribes and Traditions in Magical American Cultures”. 

Deciding that she would tell him when she had made a discovery, he plopped down into one of the chairs and continued to eat his pancakes. Ten minutes later, a triumphant “A ha!” stirred him from his pancake induced coma.

“I found it! This area is home to a Native American tribe called the Quileutes. Legend has it that certain Quileutes have the ability to shape shift.”

“So like an Animagus?” Harry interjected.

“Sort of,” Hermione replied, “except Quileutes are only known to have changed into wolves, which makes sense. People have called them werewolves, but they can change at will, and it’s often not painful for them. However, they are similar to the werewolves in that their wolf has its own personality, and the wolf’s magic usually selects the mate.”

Harry frowned. “Why is this a problem?”

Hermione grimaced, closing the book in her hands. “When the wolf chooses its mate, a magical bond occurs that the Quileutes call “imprinting.” It basically seals wolf’s fate. Once they have imprinted, they have no desire to be with any other romantic partner. Every fiber of their being is pulling them towards their mate. The process can’t be stopped.” 

Hermione started to pace around the library, and Harry was instantly hit with a wave of nausea. "So when you said it looked like something you recognized, you thought about Remus and Tonks. Oh Merlin," he began, stuffing more pancake into his mouth. "So what you're saying is - "

Hermione turned to look at him, her face set in determination. “I think Paul has imprinted on Luna.”

Harry choked on his food and furiously wiped at his mouth with his napkin. "How sure are you?"

“I’m fairly certain,” she replied just as the doorbell rang. Throwing her hair back, she walked purposefully towards the door, her eyebrows set in determination. “We wanted to make new friends, right? What a better way to make new friends than an open and honest conversation?” 

Harry froze, his brain trying to comprehend what she had said. Just as he realized what that “open and honest conversation” would entail, he heard Hermione’s voice ring throughout the house.

“Hi there! So which one of you is the Alpha?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, this story isn't flowing as easily for me as "Wonder" is right now. My grad class is almost done for the semester, and my goal is to have this story completed by the end of July, the end of August at the absolute latest. I promise I'll keep working, and if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

“Hermione!” Harry yelled as he raced into the hallway. Forgetting that he was just wearing socks on the hardwood floor, he slid into Hermione, knocking her into Luna’s arms.

  
“Harry!” Hermione cried angrily. “It’s just Luna!”

  
“Yes, well I didn’t know that! We can’t just rush into this sort of situation. We have to approach it delicately!” Harry responded, running his hands through his increasingly wild hair.

  
Hermione groaned. “Yes, yes, I know you’re right.” She stood up and removed herself from Luna’s arms. Luna just stood, watching her two friends with an amused smile on her face.

  
“You don’t need to be worried about me, ‘Mione. My imprint wouldn’t do anything to harm me.”

  
Hermione whirled around, surprise shining in her eyes. “How did you figure it out?”

  
Luna smiled dreamily. “His colors were very warm, like a sparkling gold. It was hard to look away from.”

  
“Speak of the devil,” Harry muttered. Hermione peeked over Luna’s shoulder and saw a fully clothed Paul, and the other boys from the supermarket, walking towards them. Quil and Embry were looking at Luna suspiciously, Jacob held a self-satisfied smirk of amusement on his face, and Paul? Paul looked like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time.

  
“Hello, Paul!” Luna greeted him warmly, sticking out her hand for him to shake. He took her small hand into his instantly and grabbed onto her like a lifeline.

  
Hermione cleared her throat and stepped down off of the porch. “It’s good to meet you guys! I’m glad we finally met our neighbors,” she said, trying to draw Paul’s eyes away from Luna.

  
Paul was just staring at Luna, his mouth agape. “How did you know my name? We’ve never met.”

  
“Of course we haven’t met! I could sense it.”

  
The young man named Quil barked out laughter. “You could sense it? What are you, psychic or something?”

  
Luna nodded. “Yes, something like that.”

  
Embry stepped towards Paul and smacked him on the back. “Way to pick another crazy one, man.”

  
The mood changed instantly. Luna’s smile fell from her face. She wrenched her hand away from Paul and sprinted back into the house. Paul grabbed after her, but she was too fast; she slipped right through his fingers. Paul turned to glare at Embry, and Jacob pulled them apart, looking concernedly at Harry and Hermione. Hermione glared at the boys and was about to unholster her wand when Harry grabbed hold of her arm.

  
“Mione, Luna needs you right now.” He spoke softly.

  
Huffing, Hermione shot one final scathing glare at the boys and disappeared into the house after her friend.

  
Paul began to walk towards the house, but Harry pushed him back. “Perhaps this was a bad idea.”

  
Embry snorted. “So she’s actually crazy then?” Quil murmured in agreement.

  
Harry turned to glare at Embry, and Embry’s blood stopped cold. “Luna has a very beautiful, open heart. You should know as well as I do that bad things can happen to very good people.”

  
Paul began to shake. “What happened to her?” He forced out, his teeth gritted.

  
Harry sighed, sadness overcoming his face. “She was abused back home by some very bad people. We all were. And your friend here,” he said, looking pointedly at Embry, “just discovered her trigger word.”

  
Paul lunged towards Embry, snarling, and Jacob jumped on top of him, pulling him back. “Go!” He barked to Quil and Embry, who turned and ran without any hesitation. Paul continued to shake.

  
Harry had turned back towards the house and was walking away when he heard Jacob call out after him. “Look! I’m sorry, what’s your name?” He asked, jogging over.

  
“Harry.”

  
“Jacob. Listen, I’m sorry we had to meet like this, and that our friends are assholes, but we’d all really like the chance to get to know you guys – you know, since we’re neighbors and all,” he added quickly.

  
Harry smiled sadly. “I think we’ll need some time before we’re ready to try this again.”

  
Jacob nodded resolutely. “Take all the time you need. I’m really sorry for what happened to you guys.”

  
“You’ll take care of her?” Harry heard Paul spit out from across the lawn.

  
“Of course,” Harry admonished him. Paul shook his head tightly, whirled around and ran off from where he came.

  
“Sorry about this,” Jacob added. He took off after Paul. Harry sighed, rubbed his eyes with his hands, and entered the house in search of Luna and Hermione.

  
He didn’t have to go too far; he found Hermione holding a crying Luna in her arms in the library. Sitting on the other side of the couch, he pulled Luna into his arms and held her as she sobbed while Hermione continued to rub her back.

  
They stayed that way for quite some time. Finally, Luna began to speak.

  
“I’m so sorry; I don’t know what came over me-“

  
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Hermione cooed, pulling Luna back into her arms.

  
“I just hate feeling like I'm crazy. I know everyone sees me that way, but I hate the feeling-"

  
Harry grabbed her hand and held it tight. “Luna,” he said, kneeling down in front of her so he could see her eyes, “you have a gift. Your Sight is one of the most amazing things to have happened in the wizarding world during our time. You are not crazy, and never let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  
Luna began to cry again, but this time the tears streamed silently down her face and she looked at Harry with admiration.

  
“You don’t ever have to see those guys again if you don’t want to,” Hermione growled.

  
Harry looked at her chastisingly. “Mione, they don’t know everything about the world that we do. I’m sure once they do know everything, this will fix itself.”

  
Hermione grumbled, but Luna cut in. “I would like to share my part of the story, when the time comes. But as of right now, I don’t think I want to see them for awhile. I just hope Paul will be okay.”

  
Harry grinned. “I think after a nice long talk with his pack, Paul will be just fine.” Luna seemed appeased by this explanation, but she missed the wink Harry shot Hermione and the smirk that overtook Hermione’s features.

  
A nice long talk, indeed.

___________________________________________________________________________

  
Across the town, Jacob and Sam were trying their best to keep Paul away from Embry.

  
“Paul, enough!” Sam hollered. Unable to resist his alpha any longer, Paul sat down across from Embry, shaking in fury the entire time.

  
“Now, what happened?”

  
Jacob sighed, starting the story again. “We went over to meet with Paul’s imprint and her friends. His imprint greeted him by his name, even though he hadn’t shared it with her yet, and this one-“ Jacob shot a meaningful glance at Embry, who had the decency to look ashamed, “called her crazy. She ran inside, and the guy that she lives with said that she had been through some sort of abuse. That they all had. You know the rest.”

  
Sam turned to look at Billy Black, who was seated next to Paul and was currently holding a vice-like grip on his shoulder. “It is good that your young lady and her friends came here, Paul. Perhaps they will find the healing they seek.” Billy said, speaking in calming tones.

  
Paul continued to shake. “It’s killing me. Not knowing what’s she been through, not knowing where she is, not being next to her-“

  
“I know how hard it is,” Sam replied, sitting down next to Paul. “I have imprinted too. So has Jacob. We will help you through.”

  
Paul gritted his teeth. “I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”

  
“Unfortunately, you don’t have a choice in the matter,” Billy added. “She will need some time, after this afternoon’s events.” He shot a glare at Embry and Quil. “I hope you two learned your lesson.”

  
“Yes, sir!” The quickly jumped in.

  
Sam sighed. “Paul, why don’t you and Jacob go for a run? That might help you relax. You could even run nearby her house – but you can’t stay for more than five minutes,” he quickly added as he saw Paul perk up at the mention of “her”.

  
“Don’t worry man,” Jacob added. “We’ll work it out. Bella will help, I’m sure. We can visit her after our patrol.”

  
Paul shifted into his wolf form without replying and raced out the door. Jacob followed suit, and Sam turned to look at Billy Black as they ran away.

  
“Perhaps we should consider inviting the girl’s friends to come with her to our next meeting.”

  
“I think that is an excellent idea.”

_____________________________________________________________

  
Hermione, Harry and Luna spent the next few days lounging around their house. They watched countless films in their theatre – Luna was absolutely fascinated by the concept of musicals – and they organized and reorganized the laboratory in the basement until Luna was completely satisfied with the arrangement. Harry and Hermione made taking care of Luna their priority, and before long, Luna was back to her happy, confident self.

  
Draco Malfoy, however, was not having as wonderful of a time. The first few days in the big city had brought him nothing but headaches. He quickly learned that his site manager was incompetent, and so he spent the better portion of the first few days re-configuring the site manager’s work, ordering different materials, hiring different designers, and finally hiring a new site manager.

  
It seemed like construction on the Palais was finally on the right track that Friday as Draco headed into the city for lunch. Stepping out of the Palais, he followed his familiar track through the alleys into the heart of the city, grateful for the silence that surrounded him – construction was an unpleasantly loud business, he found. _The less time in the field and the more time I can spend in my office back home, the better,_  he thought. _Huh. My home_ –

  
His thoughts were stopped in their tracks by the sound of voices. Instinct taking over, he ducked behind a dumpster in a side street and stood stock still, listening.

  
“Ahhhhh Rabastan, it has been too long.”

  
“The pleasure is mine, Fenrir. I’m glad to see you are still thriving in your pathetic existence.”

  
Ice raced through Draco’s veins, and he felt the cereal he ate for breakfast quickly moving back up into his throat.

  
_No. It cannot be. It’s impossible_ –

  
“Going to pay a visit to the Malfoy boy, are we?”

  
Rabastan snorted. “Please. That flea isn’t worth the time to takes to say his name.”

  
Fenrir laughed a guttural laugh. “Heard any news about Wonder boy then?”

  
“Bits and pieces. Aro heard he’s somewhere on the West Coast. We’re going to make our way over there eventually; the pieces are almost all in place.”

  
“Good, good. My children and I are at your beck and call.”

  
Rabastan scoffed. “As you should be. And the next time you want to make a social call, find some place a little more pleasant. The alley behind this pathetic muggle restaurant is hardly appropriate.”

  
“Of course,” Fenrir hissed.

  
“Expect to hear from me soon.” Draco heard two distinctive pops echo throughout the alley. He glanced out from behind the dumpster and saw that the alley was empty.

  
Breathing a sigh of relief, he glanced down at his hands. He was holding his wand tightly in his right hand, and it took several minutes – and several deep breaths – before his hands had stopped shaking and he had his panic under control.

  
Turning around quickly, he apparated back to the Palais, told the project manager that he would now be solely consulting from his home, and disapparated back to Forks in the blink of an eye.

__________________________________________________________________________________

  
Earlier that Friday, Hermione found herself and Luna walking through the forest, looking for natural North American potion materials.

  
“See anything?” Hermione called from across the forest. They had decided, after forty unsuccessful minutes of working together, to split up, hoping to cover more ground.

  
Luna stepped softly across the forest floor. “I found some shadow silk!” She called back.

  
“Brilliant! Grab as much as you can; I found the purple algae you were looking for. It’s a few more feet away though, so holler loudly if you need me!”

  
“Okay!” Luna chirped back. She turned around, whipped out her potion knife, and began to cut away at the shadow silk, humming all the while.  
The sound of moving leaves froze her in the middle of pouring the silk into her portable containers, and she turned around to find herself staring at a great chestnut colored wolf.

  
The colors around the wolf turned into that sparkly gold color she had only seen once before.

  
“Paul,” she whispered. The wolf appeared shocked and stumbled backwards. Luna reached out her hand. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t harm you. You remind me of a friend of mine – well, I’d like to think he would be my friend someday.”

  
The wolf, appearing somewhat reassured, slowly approached Luna. She smiled. _It’s all right Paul, you can keep this secret to yourself a little while longer._ Finally within an arms reach, she ran her fingers gently through his mane, and the wolf moaned.

  
“See? I won’t harm you,” Luna smiled softly.

  
“Luna!” She heard Hermione scream. The wolf tensed up, growling instantly.

  
“Hermione? What is it?” She turned to look at Hermione, who was frantically waving her over.

  
“Come here!” Hermione hissed.

  
“What is it?” she whispered back. Stepping lightly past the wolf, ignoring his growls, she walked over towards Hermione.

  
“There is a giant pack of large wolves staring at you!”

  
“Large pack?” Luna asked. She turned around to look back at Paul and saw that there were, in fact, about seven other wolves staring at them.

  
“It’s okay, Hermione. They won’t hurt me. I know it.”

  
Hermione’s brow furrowed in worry. “I trust you. I’m just not sure about them yet.”

  
“Hermione! Luna!” They turned at Harry’s shout and saw him racing through the woods, oblivious to the branches and other fauna hitting him in the face.

  
“I got your Patronus! Are you all right?” He gasped, reaching Hermione’s side.

  
She elbowed him in the ribs. “We’ve got company!” She spat out in a low voice.

  
Harry glanced up and cleared his throat. Grabbing Luna’s arm, he started to head for home. “Come on Luna, let’s go back; the woods aren’t safe right now.”

  
“Really, Harry, I’m quite all right.” Luna stood still in her place. The wolf closest to her – Paul, Harry guessed – began to walk towards them, growling. The largest wolf of the pack, who was the color of midnight, barked out a warning, but Paul kept advancing.

  
“Please, Luna, let’s go back,” Harry begged. The wolf walked faster until it was standing directly in front of them.

  
“Luna.” Harry whispered. Luna was frozen, gazing down at the wolf with wonder in her eyes.

  
“Paul,” she whispered again. This time, the pack of wolves turned, looked amongst each other, and began to move closer. Paul’s wolf began to shake violently.

  
“Luna, step back!” Hermione cried. She pulled Luna back and the wolf leapt.

  
Draco Malfoy apparated into the clearing just in time to see Hermione collide against a tree with a sickening crack.


	7. Of Boys and Bo Staffs

“Hermione!” Luna screamed as Hermione collided against the tree with a sickening crack. Ignoring Paul’s barks of fear Luna raced over to hear side and began casting examination spells.

“Incarcerous!” Draco shouted, casting the curse at the wolves. Paul and the rest of the pack began snarling in anger, unable to move from their position.

“Draco!” Harry exclaimed, running over. “What are you doing?”

“Protecting us from bloodthirsty wolves, what does it look like, Potter?” Draco spat, snarling right back at Paul.

“They’re shifters, Malfoy!” Harry cried, exasperated.

The blood drained from Draco’s face. “Bloody hell.”

“You got that right!” Harry said, exasperated. He made the move to cast the reversal spell when Draco stopped him.

“Wait until we leave. We need to get back to the house, now.”

Harry studied Draco’s face. “What’s going on?”

Casting a nervous glance over to the girls – Luna was busy humming and waving her wand over Hermione, healing her broken ribs – Draco pushed his memory of Rabastan and Greyback into Harry’s mind.

Harry paled instantly. “No.” He began backing up. “It’s not possible.”

“What’s not possible?” Luna asked, turning to look at them as her wand seemingly moved of its own accord. Seeing the fear on Harry’s face, she began to shake. “Harry? What is it?”

Harry raced over to Luna and grabbed her arm. “Draco, take Luna. I’ll grab Hermione.”

“Draco, what happened?” Luna asked again, this time her voice breaking into a cry. Paul began to howl mournfully. Luna turned to look at her wolf’s eyes.

“Paul,” she began.

“Later.” Draco snapped, and before the wolves could recognize what had happened Draco and Luna vanished from the forest with a loud pop.

Harry scooped a still unconscious Hermione up into his arms. Turning the face the wolves, he sighed. “Paul, Jacob, I'll be in touch with you later. We have a lot to discuss. Finite incantatem!”

The pack felt the warm magic dissipate, and with a great cry Paul leapt towards the two figures, but only caught air as they too disappeared into thin air.

_What the hell was that?_ Sam asked angrily.

_I have no idea_ , Jacob replied.

_As much as I hate to suggest this, maybe we should ask the leeches for help_ , Leah added.

Sam growled. _Fine. Let’s go._

The rest of the pack began to sprint towards the Cullen’s house. Only Paul remained, frozen in his spot, growling in fear and anger.

_Paul, I know you’re worried. We’ll find her, but you need to come with us now_ , Sam urged through their connection.

Howling mournfully, Paul turned around and galloped after his pack.

________________________________________________________________

Luna found herself back inside their Forks home before she knew it. She sank onto the floor, stunned. Harry and Hermione followed about twenty seconds later. As soon as Harry’s feet touched the ground, he was sprinting down the hallway towards the library.

"Malfoy! Grab the floo powder, we've got to leave now!" Harry screamed as he ran.

"Potter! Stop!" Draco yelled after him, sprinting down the hallway. Using his momentum, he grabbed onto the doorpost and swung his way into the library, sliding in front of the fireplace just as Harry was about to dive through.

"Potter, stop!" He panted. "Now is not the time for rash decisions!"

Harry glared at him furiously. "It's not safe!"

"You're right!" Draco finally screamed back. "It's not safe for Hermione to do any sort of long distance travelling in her condition!"

Harry's eyes widened, as if he just realized he was carrying the injured girl in her arms. He glanced down as he heard a soft whimper, and his arms began to shake uncontrollably. Draco swept in and clasped Hermione close to his chest. Harry just continued to look at Hermione, shaking in pain from some invisible torment.

"Potter," Draco finally whispered. "She's going to be okay."

Harry just nodded and fell back into the great red armchair next to the fireplace. He buried his head into his hands and began to sob quietly. Draco felt a burning sensation in the back of his throat and coughed loudly, trying to cast the pain away. He heard the wood panelling creak underneath him and looked up just in time to see Luna walk into the room, worry etched across her normally peaceful face.

"I'll fetch the medi-kit from Madame Pomfrey; why don't you make Hermione comfortable?" She finally spoke up. Draco nodded silently and crossed the room, setting himself and Hermione down gently on the couch so that her head was nestled against his shoulder. Luna returned a few moments later, and muttering a few spells to fix the broken bones, she whispered "Ennervate".

Hermione gasped, blinking around the room. "What happened?" She asked groggily. She tried to sit up off of Draco's lap but winced almost immediately, her bones still sore.

"Take this," Draco offered, grabbing the painkilling potion from Luna and forcing it into her hands. Hermione grabbed it wordlessly and finished the entire bottle in one gulp.

"Thanks," she whispered, staring at Draco's chest, unable to meet him in the eye. He just sighed and held her closer. She heard a soft sob from across the room, and looked on in horror as she saw Harry wipe tears away from his eyes.

"Harry!" She cried, trying to leap out of Draco's arms, to no avail. "What's wrong?"

Harry wiped his eyes. "It's not over."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione demanded. "What's not over?"

Harry sighed. "Draco, I think it's time you tell us everything." Luna moved wordlessly into the other chair across from the couch, and Hermione turned to look at Draco. He sighed mournfully and ran his free hand through his normally perfectly coiffed hair.

He recounted his tale twice, making sure not to leave any detail out. When he had finally finished telling the others about Lestrange and Greyback, the room was in silence. Luna began crying silently again, and Harry moved to her side of the room and began rubbing her back.

Draco looked down at Hermione, expecting to see her in tears. Instead, he saw her shaking with an expression on her face that could only be called pure fury.

"Hermione?" He asked cautiously. She stopped shaking at the sound of her name – it always sounded so lovely when he said it.

She sighed. "I think we all know what we need to do."

Luna wiped away the last of her tears, and the other three members of their little group turned to face her.

She nodded grimly. "We fight."

Harry laughed in disbelief. "You can't be serious! We just got out of a war! If there are Death Eaters here, the only option for us is to go back home and work with the ministry to-"

"NO." Hermione shot out. Harry stopped abruptly, staring at her in shock. Even Draco had started from his reverie.

"Our best chance to finish them off once and for all is to stay here."

"It's dangerous!" Harry yelled back.

"Not more dangerous than anything we did at Hogwarts, Harry James Potter!"

"She's got a point there," Draco murmured.

Harry shot him a glare. "Don't start agreeing with her now, Malfoy."

Malfoy's gaze hardened. "I'm just saying-"

"Hermione's right, Harry." Luna's soft voice cut through the noise. Harry and Draco turned to look at her in shock. "They don't know that we know their plan. And, if Draco's information is accurate-"

"Which it is-"

"Then we have at least a month, maybe more, to set our trap."

Harry began to rub his chin, gazing at the ground thoughtfully. "Okay, continue."

Hermione looked at Luna gratefully and started to speak again. "Think about it. You, me and Ron were able to destroy the Horcruxes on our own, just the three of us – well, more like just the two of us - " she broke off into an uncomfortable cough. Harry rolled his eyes, but Draco grinned widely at that sentiment. Luna caught the look at Draco's face and sent a smirk his way.

"Right," Hermione continued. "Imagine what the four of us can accomplish!"

"You don't think we should alert the others?" Draco asked thoughtfully.

Hermione shook her head. "No. The fewer people in the Wizarding World that know, the better. Not only will they be safer, we will have a better chance of maintaining the element of surprise when the Death Eaters do show up."

"And it won't be just the four of us, you know," Luna added, lost in thought.

Harry shook his head. "We can't ask the wolves to help us; they would be too vulnerable."

"I believe that is their decision, Harry," Luna replied quickly. "And it wouldn't be just the wolves."

Now it was Hermione's turn to look confused. "What do you mean, Luna?"

Luna smiled dreamily. "Why, didn't you finish reading the chapter on the  Quileute shape-shifters? They only emerge when another supernatural predator has taken residence on their lands."

Draco's eyes widened. "No."

Harry glanced between the two blondes. "What is it?"

Luna turned to face Harry, shooting him a bright smile. "Vampires."

Draco moaned, burying his head in Hermione's hair. Hermione was too shocked – mostly because she hadn't come across that information, but partially because Draco's closeness had set off butterflies in her stomach.

"Well then," Harry finally spoke up. "I think it's time we get back into shape."

The group spent the next hour creating a contingency plan. Draco and Harry would get set up powerful wards around the house and at various intervals away from the house to alert the members if anyone was approaching. They would also go to the outskirts of town – and the Quileute preservation at Luna's insistence – to set up various wards and protection spells there as well. Hermione and Luna began brewing healing potions like madwomen, and set up the dueling space in their basement.

The next forty eight hours were a whirlwind. Draco and Harry spent most of their time on their spellwork, Draco teaching Harry and the girls the common tactics employed by Death Eaters to gain the upper hand on their opponents. Hermione and Luna brewed, researched, and brewed some more during any time that they weren't practicing with the boys. In addition all four had torn through every single book in the library, looking for ways to protect themselves from the other supernatural creatures they were sure to encounter. Finally, after forty eight hours of non-stop movement – and the occasional nap – Luna finally forced the other three to go to bed, threatening them with hexes and Snarkwinkle infestation. Too tired to argue, all four fell into a deep sleep early Friday afternoon.

 

 

Late Saturday morning, Hermione and Luna finally awoke from their deep slumber and met in the kitchen for brunch.

Hermione yawned. "Just when I thought I would have a normal sleeping schedule."

Luna chuckled. "That will come soon enough, I'm sure. I'm quite confident this nonsense with the Death Eaters won't last very long."

Hermione groaned in reply. "I sure hope not."

They ate their pancakes in silence – well, mostly silence. Crookshanks, who was furious at being ignored for two and a half days, whined and whined until he got his own plate of pancakes, complete with a side of bacon and cheesy eggs. Luna was completely entertained by the Kneazle's behavior, but Hermione just grumbled darkly as she twirled around the kitchen.

"You're majesty," she muttered finally. Crookshanks merely sniffed the air in reply and began to eat his meal with relish.

Luna cleared her throat. "I think we should talk to them today."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure you're ready?"

Luna nodded. "Quite. Paul has been miserable; so miserable, in fact, that the elders and the pack are meeting with the vampires to discuss a plan of action at their weekly bonfire tonight."

Hermione shook her head. "Have I told you how incredible your Sight is?"

Luna smiled warmly. "It's so nice to hear that, thank you."

Hermione smiled back softly and grasped her friend's hand in hers. "You know I mean it." She searched Luna's face and was surprised to find traces of anxiety there.

"Nervous?" She asked.

Luna nodded sheepishly. "Is it normal?"

"Is it normal to be nervous to have your first conversation with your soulmate? I would think so!" Hermione replied softly. Seeing that her words didn't do anything to alleviate Luna's anxiety, she cleared her throat and magicked the dirty dishes away.

"How about we get some exercise?" She asked innocently. Luna looked up at Hermione and smirked.

"I thought you'd never ask."

 

 

Draco and Harry woke twenty minutes later to the sound of yelling coming from the backyard. Shouting for Draco, Harry sprinted down the steps, straight into the kitchen, finally skidding to a halt in front of the back door.

"What is it?" Draco hollered, brandishing his wand as he ran straight into Harry's back.

Harry didn't reply. He just stared dumbly at the backyard.

"Potter, what is it?" Draco snapped. He pushed Harry aside and looked outside, shocked. Hermione and Luna were fighting with bo staffs, twirling through the air, simultaneously casting spells and fending off each other's attacks.

"How? What? Why?" Draco finally whispered.

"Don't ask me," Harry replied quietly. Clearing his throat, he turned to look back at the kitchen. "Do you want some breakfast with the show?"

Draco smirked. "I thought you'd never ask."

Outside, completely oblivious to the boys making a mess in the kitchen, Luna and Hermione continued to fight.

"I'm so glad your mom taught you this, Luna," Hermione gasped, sweat dripping off her eyebrows.

"Me too," Luna panted, striking Hermione's staff so quickly that Hermione flew backwards. "It's really come in handy."

Hermione flipped up off of the ground and leapt through the air, smashing her staff on Luna's, knocking her onto the ground. "Really? When?"

 Luna kicked Hermione and cast a bat-bogey hex, which Hermione quickly deflected. "You know, times like these. You can't really worry about boys when you're busy-" she gasped, deflecting Hermione's tarantella - "perfecting your fighting skills."

Hermione chuckled. "I get the feeling we'll be doing this more in the future then." She pushed up off of the ground and began swinging her staff wildly above her head.

"Why do you say that?" Luna asked, ducking out of the way.

"You just found your soulmate!" She exclaimed, knocking Luna aside. "Talk about boy issues!"

Luna chuckled. "Oh really? And it might not have anything to do with the tension between you and Draco?"

Hermione blanched. "What tension?" Luna took the opportunity to knock Hermione's feet out from under her and hit her staff away.

Luna smirked. "You know what I'm talking about. Otherwise I wouldn't have beaten you quite so quickly."

Hermione groaned. Luna laughed triumphantly. "I knew it!" She cried.

Hermione groaned again, louder this time. "My staff, please?"

Luna sent Hermione's staff her way with a flick of her wand, and Hermione stood up slowly. "How about round two?"

Luna chuckled. "Sure you can stay focused?"

Hermione smiled wickedly back. "Watch me."

 

 

Two hours later Hermione and Luna made their way back into the house, laughing as they stretched out their sore muscles.

"I've got to say, I've never enjoyed live entertainment so much!" Draco began as they walked in. Luna chuckled softly as Hermione shot him a glare.

"And those outfits," he continued, knowing he was getting himself into hot water. "Why don't you wear leggings like that all the time, Granger?"

Luna burst out laughing now, and Hermione just continued to glare at him.

"Luna," she began darkly, "How would you like some target practice?"

"Oh don't worry, Granger," Draco said with a wink, "I'm quite good at sticking a landing."

"That's it!" Hermione roared, and she chased Draco, who was laughing maniacally, down the hallway. Luna skipped down the hallway, stopping when she saw Harry exit the library, mug in hand.

"Do I want to know?" He asked, looking in the direction of the shouting and laughter.

Luna just smiled. "They're just figuring things out, I think."

Harry groaned. "The sooner the better, if you ask me." He turned to look at Luna. "I saw your note. You sure you want to do this tonight?"

Luna nodded. "I'm sure."

"Okay then. Let's get ourselves ready for your big date!" He said, wrapping his arm around Luna's shoulders. They made their way upstairs and found Hermione and Draco dueling wildly in the common room.

"Guys, come on! Knock it off!" Harry shouted, disrupting the match. "Just kiss and make up already!"

Draco chuckled. "I'm in if you are Granger!"

Hermione glared at him and stomped down her hallway, muttering darkly.

Harry shook his head at Draco, who was smiling brightly at her retreating figure. "You're crazy. You know that, right? Completely mental. There's a better way to win her over."

"And deny her my charms? Potter, you disappoint me." And with an exaggerate wink, Draco sashayed his way into his room.

Harry groaned and Luna traipsed after Hermione. The girls spent the next two hours taking turns cleaning up and getting ready, and by the time 7 pm rolled around they looked as if they were ready for a night on the town. Luna was wearing a sparkly dark blue sundress that rested a few inches above her knees. Her light blonde hair was pulled back into a half-up, half-down ponytail. Silver wolf earrings shone from her ears, and she had painted her nails the same silver color.

"Harry," she called as she began walking down the stairs. "Will you feed Crookshanks with me? Hermione is taking longer than expected."

"Fine," Harry groaned, and the two of them made their way to the kitchen, leaving Draco alone in the upstairs common room.

"You coming, Granger?" He called, adjusting his button up. "We haven't got all night!"

"I'm coming!" She yelled back, and a moment later she stepped out of her room. Draco's breath caught in his throat.

Hermione was wearing black skinny jeans tucked into black heeled boots. She wore a dark green zip up sweater that flared out around her waist, and her hair was swept up into a loose ponytail.

She walked out into the hallway, digging through her purse. "You ready?" She asked, finally looking at Draco. Hermione swore her heart stopped beating for a few seconds. Draco was dressed in dark blue jeans and a light blue button up. The arms were rolled up to reveal his muscular forearms, and the shirt was unbuttoned enough to give her a glimpse of his throat and smooth bare chest.

Hermione gulped. She looked into Draco's eyes and saw her awe reflected in his.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he replied breathily.

"Good," she spoke, and before he knew what she was doing she had pulled him towards her by the lapels of his button up and was kissing him hungrily.

Draco's brain melted, and it took him a few moments to realize what was happening before he wrapped her up tightly in his arms and kissed her with everything he had.

Too soon, she pulled away, Draco's lips following hers, begging for more. He opened his eyes to look at her smiling.

"I'm glad we kissed and made up," he began, smirking brightly.

Hermione tossed her hair, glaring at him in jest. "Me too," she said, finally smiling. It looked like she was moving back in for round two, which Draco was completely in favor of, when Harry yelled at them from the bottom of the stairs.

"Come on, you two! We don't have all night."

Groaning, Draco released Hermione, who squeezed his hand before running down the stairs. He trudged after he slowly, glaring at Harry as he reached the landing.

Harry looked at him quizzically, then broke out in a smile. "Did I interrupt someth-"

"Shut it, Potter," he growled. Harry beamed in return, grabbed hold of Hermione, and apparated away. Luna clutched Draco's hand and he felt the familiar pull of apparition as well, and when he opened his eyes, he found that he was no longer in the foyer of their home.

Instead, he was staring a large, angry looking wolf.


	8. Chapter 8

The crackling of the campfire was the only sound breaking through the cool night air. The elders sat around the fire, watching the shifters warily. Jacob, Seth and Bella were working their way through a package of marshmallows. The rest of the shifters were in their wolf form. Sam was perched on a picnic table, his gaze unwavering from Paul. Ever since the incident in the woods, Paul had been so volatile that he had been unable to shift back to his human form. He was currently sprawled next to the fire, worn out from hours of pacing back and forth, and whining mournfully, as if he was in physical pain.

Quil, Embry and Leah were sitting next to Jacob and Seth, far enough away that they weren't invading Paul's personal space, but close enough that they could jump him if something bad occurred.

Billy Black turned to look at Emily, Sam's mate, who was sitting to his right, her teeth biting her lower lip in worry.

"It's been too long, Billy. He should have shifted back by now." She murmured, her eyes glued to Paul's agonized form.

Billy sighed, covering his eyes with his hand as he began to massage his sore temples. "He is under great emotional distress. I was hoping his wand-waver would have shown up by now."

As if his words alone were enough to summon them, a great crack broke the silence of the Tribal circle, and Billy blinked furiously as four young adults materialized in front of his eyes.

Jacob, shoving the rest of his marshmallow into his mouth leapt off of his seat and sprinted over to the newcomers, who were standing a few ways off. The young man with black hair – Harry, Jacob remembered, was leading the group as they walked over.

"Jacob, good to see you again," he said, extending his hand in greeting.

Jacob could feel the wolves tense behind him. Sam leapt down from his pedestal and moved closer to Paul. Paul began to growl softly and Sam stuck his paw in Paul's side, warning him not to do anything foolish.

"Harry, thanks for coming!" Jacob replied back, smiling mournfully as he clapped Harry on the back.

The glowering blonde man that emerged behind Harry snorted loudly and glared in the tribe's direction.

"Draco," the curly brown haired girl whispered as she smacked him on the head. At the sound of his name Paul leapt up, growling. The other wolves began to advance on him as Sam barked out his command – _Stand down, Paul._ Paul laid himself back down on the ground, quivering in rage.

"I'm just being honest. If I remember correctly, last time wasn't so pleasant, especially for you!" Draco shot back to Hermione. His glare turned on Paul. "Don't think that I'll forget it, mutt."

Quil and Embry leapt forward to keep Paul from charging Draco as his hackles rose in fury. The three wolves snarled amongst each other as Sam continued to bark.

"Draco, enough!" Harry half-shouted. He turned to face him in exasperation. "Now is not the time for your attitude. Save it for later."

"With pleasure," Draco drawled, shooting a wink at Hermione. She pretended not to see, but the blush that took over her face was enough to keep Draco satisfied.

"Is Paul all right?" Jacob peeked behind the two men in front and saw the blonde ethereal girl who had caused Paul so much heartache – through no fault of her own, he added unconsciously.

"Luna. Thank you for coming." He held his hand out to her and she took it, smiling at him warmly.

Upon spotting her perfect blonde curls, all of the fight left Paul's body and he lowered himself onto the ground, emitting only a pained whimper. Luna walked past Jacob and sat herself delicately on a lone bench. She turned her gaze upon him and Paul was instantly overcome with peace.

_You are more than welcome to join me, Paul._

_Did she just_ – Quil sent worriedly to Sam through his telepathic link.

 _She's a witch, remember? Of course she did._ Embry added with a proud hmph.

Paul didn't need a second invitation. The moment her voice caressed his mind he had crawled over to her side as quickly as possible. Knocking the bench she was sitting on out of his way, he caught her as she fell onto his side. The large wolf repositioned himself so that she was completely surrounded by his massive frame, and he sighed contentedly as she leaned back and began to stroke his fur.

"I wish you could do that," Hermione muttered as she walked to the remaining bench with Draco.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"Hmm, what? Oh, nothing," she replied back sweetly, and upon sitting herself on the bench, snuggled up right next to Harry, to Draco's immediate chagrin and Harry's immediate amusement.

Jacob cleared his throat and motioned the group to look across the fire at an elderly Native American man in a wheelchair. "That is my father, Billy Black. He is the leader of our tribe." The newcomers nodded at him in acknowledgement.

"I suppose you would like to hear our story," he began.

"Actually," Hermione cut in excitedly, "I found most of the legend in our collection of books back home! I do have a few questions-"

"Maybe we should start by telling you our story," Harry cut her off, shooting her a wary glance.

Billy nodded. "That may be for the best. If you don't mind waiting, we're expecting a few more guests."

"We're here," a deep silkly voice issued forth from the trees. Hermione and Harry turned and found themselves facing a group of tall, unnaturally pale humanoids.

Draco was the first to whip out his wand. "Bloodsuckers," he growled.

A gorgeous blonde man, his hair perfectly coiffed, was the first one to step into the light. He held his hands up in the air. "My name is Carlisle Cullen, and this is my family. Esme, my wife, and my adopted children Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper," he offered, introducing each one of them in turn. "We mean you no harm."

"They're vegetarians," Hermione murmured.

"How do you know that?" Draco gasped out. Hermione shot him a look and then rolled her eyes. "Oh, a book, I should have guessed. Why am I not surprised?"

"Hush, Draco! Are you trying to annoy everyone here?"

"Why, is it working?"

"Boys, if you don't stop it right now, I swear to Merlin-"

"It's lovely to meet you!" Luna jumped up from Paul's large wolfish form and ignored his angry growl as she walked over and shook Carlisle's hand. "Your name sounds familiar. Do you know my father, Xenophilius Lovegood?"

Carlisle smiled warmly in memory. "Ahh, yes. I had the pleasure of working with him a number of years ago. You must be his daughter. The honor is all mine." Luna smiled back brightly.

Hermione was trying her best to stop Harry and Draco from bickering when she felt a familiar prickle at the edge of her mind. A legilmens? Her eyes quickly glanced over the vampires and she locked stares with the one named Edward, who looked strangely like Cedric Diggory. Feelings of shock, loss, and anger flew through her consciousness, and before she could fully comprehend her actions she had pushed Edward out of her mind so hard that he flew backwards and hit a tree.

"Rude!" Hermione shot out. The wolves began to growl, but the vampire named Emmett fell over laughing.

"I told you we'd like her," Alice smirked. Jasper nodded in agreement, but Rosalie was glaring at Draco.

"We'll see," she muttered.

"How is he a legilmens?"

"What?" Harry finally asked, breaking away from his quiet spat with Draco. Hermione pointed at the vampire who was now returning to the group, looking surlier than ever.

"Doesn't he look like-" Draco whispered.

"Not the time, Malfoy." Harry whispered back.

"A few of us have special abilities," Alice began in her perky tone. "Edward can read minds – well, except for yours and Bella's, apparently. Hi Bella dear!" She called across the circle. "It's been too long since our last sleepover! Even Edward has missed you." Hermione could swear she heard Jacob growl over the sound of Bella's laughter. She focused back on Alice, tucking that away in her thoughts. "I can see the future, and Jasper is able to influence other people's emotions and auras."

Luna gasped and turned to look at Jasper and Alice happily. "You both have sight?"

Jasper grinned. "That we do, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you." He crossed over and kissed her hand. Paul began to growl louder while Alice only laughed. She wrapped Luna in her arms.

"I'm so glad we've finally met you! I can't wait to compare notes!"

"Okay, wait a moment," Harry finally cut in. "You're shifters, and you're vegetarian vampires," he began, pointing at each group, "and somehow you three knew about us before we got here. Then what's the point of this meeting?"

"Only Alice knew of your existence, and even then she was only able to sense your presence." Carlisle replied.

"For some reason, I'm not able to get a read on you."

"It's our magic, probably," Hermione mused. "That's fascinating. I wonder - "

"Yes, yes, more questions, we get it, ask them later. We're here for a reason, and the sooner we get it out in the open, the better." Draco cut off Hermione again, but instead of ire he was met with silent agreement.

"Draco's right," Harry added softly. Turning to the vampires, he motioned for them to sit down. The Cullens made their way quickly to the circle, and Luna returned to her spot next to Paul, who encircled her even upon her return so there would be no easy way for her to escape. She began to pet him again, and he finally stopped growling.

Harry stood up and faced Hermione. "How do you think we should do this?"

"We make a pensieve using our bodies. If we all hold hands, we will be able to create a circle to maintain the memories. One of us will stand in the middle of the circle, and with Edward using his legilmancy powers, we should be able to amplify the memories so that they are visible for everyone."

"Is that even possible?" Harry asked in shock.

Hermione shrugged. "We won't know until we try. And as long as we have a circle and a vessel for the memories, it should work. They didn't have pensieves in earlier days, so the first witches and wizards shared their memories in this way. It's not easy, but it's not impossible."

"Will the wolves have to shift back into human form?" Billy asked from across the circle.

"Whatever is most comfortable for them. As long as they are physically touching another member of the circle, they should be able to experience it. However, it would probably be best if only one or two remained in wolf form." Almost immediately Quil, Embry and Leah ran off behind the bushes and returned shortly thereafter dressed.

"Sam and Paul will remain in wolf form."

"That's probably for the best," Luna added thoughtfully. She grabbed Paul's head by his wolfy ears and turned him to face her.

"What you are going to see isn't pretty, but I just want you to remember that no matter what happened in the past, I am here now and I am safe. Promise me you will remember that? I'll be with you the whole time," she whispered softly. Paul nodded his head and licked her cheek. She smiled, then turned to look at Hermione.

"Okay, we're ready."

"I'll be the vessel for the memories," Hermione added, standing up. Draco grabbed her hand worriedly.

"Are you sure you're strong enough to do this?"

Hermione nodded and smiled down at him sadly. "I'll be all right. Besides, you and Harry and incredibly powerful wizards. I need you to be a part of the circle in order for it to work."

She moved to the center next to the fire, which had dwindled down to a small flame. The rest of the group moved in closer together and held hands. Luna tucked Paul's paw around her leg, and Harry wrapped his arm around Sam's giant paw and held it with Jacob.

Hermione turned to look at Edward, who had seated himself next to Bella. Locking eyes, she lowered her occlumency shields, and she felt Edward begin to probe her mind as Harry and Draco sent silent projecting spells towards her. She closed her eyes and felt herself sucked into her own memories. They flashed around her, and she searched through them, trying to show those that were the most important.

_The Hogwarts Express. Being sorted into Gryffindor. Classes with Harry, Ron and Draco. The troll, Cerberus, Professor Quirrell. The Basilisk, Sirius Black, the Time Turner. The Quidditch World Cup, Cedric Diggory, dragons, merpeople, the Yule Ball, seeing Harry exit the maze with Cedric's dead body. Voldemort coming back to life, Harry casting the sectumsempra spell, Hermione healing Draco afterwards, Bill's wedding, hunting Horcruxes, Ron leaving, Ron returning, being captured by Fenrir Greyback, being held in Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix Lestrange. The Cruciatus curse. Seeing her Cruciatus curse scars and the same scars on Luna. Luna being saved, half-dead from Malfoy Manor, by Dobby. Gringotts, Rowena's diadem, saving Draco from Fiendfyre, Harry dying, Harry coming back to life, Draco saving Hermione from Greyback, Harry killing Voldemort. Finding out about her parent's deaths, moving to Forks, encountering Paul for the first time, comforting Luna after the disastrous ice cream date, learning about the Death Eaters coming after them from Draco, training, disapparating to the Tribal Council, seeing Edward Cullen's face and remembering Cedric -_

As the final memory of seeing Edward's eyes raced through Hermione's mind and the minds of those in the circle, Hermione was shocked back to reality and the pensieve was broken. Dizzy, she began to sink into the ground, only to be swept up into Draco's arms and carried back to the bench where she sat wrapped in his embrace.

The circle sat in silence for many moments. Hermione looked around and saw tears streaming down the faces of Bella, Alice, Esme, Rosalie, and Emily. Several of the men were torn between looking angry and mournful. Jasper looked pained, Jacob looked distraught, and Emmett was seething. Shock was written across Edward's face and he sat, motionless, as the others around him began to stir.

Hermione looked over at Luna and saw that even though tears were streaming down her face as well, she was quietly murmuring to Paul, who was shaking and whining. Her heart went out to them, and as if sensing her gaze, Luna turned and looked back at her.

_Thank you. I don't think I could have done that myself._

_Anytime_ , Hermione smiled back sadly.

Minutes ticked by, and after what seemed like an eternity Billy finally broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Words cannot communicate how sorry I am for what you have gone through," he said warily.

Emily nodded tearfully. "And you are so young!"

Harry absentmindedly ran his hand through his hair, and Hermione grabbed onto his other free hand and held it tightly. Smiling sadly up at Draco, she leaned into him even more and clutched onto his hand with her free one like it was the only thing keeping her afloat.

"We made it. Together. And that's the only way that we're going to be able to get rid of these Death Eaters, once and for all." Harry stood up and addressed the group. "I don't think that there is anything further that can be done tonight. We're going to go home and rework our wards to make sure that you are able to access our house."

Carlisle nodded. "I think it would be best if we start training as soon as possible."

"Agreed," Draco nodded. "I don't know what sort of monsters you're used to, but these guys are a whole different brand of nasty."

"The last thing we want to do is endanger you, so if you do not want to be a part of this fight, you are not obligated to be by any means," Hermione added in hastily.

Paul growled at her declaration and Jacob jumped up, inferring her meaning. "Luna is one of us now. We fight for her."

Edward surprised everyone by leaping up as well. "We are with you too." He turned to look at his family. "It is the least I can do, after everything. In his memory."

Esme nodded. "In his memory."

"I'm coming too!" Bella jumped in. Jacob groaned.

"Bella-"

"Someone is going to need to make sure you don't kill each other! Besides, between their magic and my baking skills, we'll make sure you have the energy you need. And this is such a fascinating learning experience!"

Edward and Jacob shot each other a glance and groaned. Jacob turned to look at them. "Would you be willing to let her take a glimpse at your library?"

Hermione smiled excitedly. "Would I? Absolutely-"

Draco chuckled. "Tomorrow, dearest." He winked at Jacob. "Once you get her started on books, she doesn't stop."

Jacob chuckled in return. "Tell me about it!"

Harry clapped his hands together. "That settles it, then. Let's call it a night, and feel free to come over to our place bright and early tomorrow morning."

Billy nodded. "We'll see you there." With that, the elders of the tribe, the wolves and the Cullens began to disperse. Hermione walked over to Luna, who was trying to stand up, to no avail.

"Hermione!" Luna smiled brightly. Hermione offered her a hand and pulled Luna into a standing position. "Paul said that he hasn't been able to phase out of his wolf form for days," she smiled sadly as she gaze down at him. "I'm bringing him back to the house with us. A good night's sleep should help him finally relax."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." _Are you sure you're okay with this?_

_He is my mate, Hermione. I've never been so okay with anything in my life._

_Good._ Hermione smiled and watched as Luna hopped onto Paul's back and raced off towards the house.

"Racing us back to the house, I take it?" Draco asked, walking over to Hermione's side.

She scoffed. "Yes, and if you don't hurry, she'll be you there."

"Pff, as if." Draco apparated away quickly.

"He just can't lose, can he?" Harry chuckled as he reached Hermione.

"Guess not," she smiled softly.

Harry shuffled his feet, avoiding her eyes. "Hey, if you like him-"

"Harry!"

"You have my blessing."

Hermione paused. "Really?"

"Really." Harry swept her up into a giant and swung her around.

"Thank you," she whispered.

A sudden pop echoed through the clearing as Draco reappeared.

"What's taking so long? Luna and the wolf have already crashed in her room, and I'm bored."

"Sorry your highness!" Hermione smirked. Grabbing Harry's hand, she disapparated away, leaving Draco behind.

He scoffed, though there was no malice in his eyes. Only contentment, and the faintest glimmer of hope.

"Women."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO! Another chapter done! I'm really proud right now, guys. I edited the end of the last chapter to fit where this one picked up. And I promise, I will update Wonder before the weekend. Since it's the holidays, I should have plenty of time to get plenty of writing done. Any and all plot ideas are welcome, for both stories! Thank you all so much for your love and support, it means the world to me :)


	9. Author's Update

Hello everyone!

I am SO SORRY that it has been so long since I've updated both Orion's Bane and Wonder. Believe it or not, I have been actually writing pretty consistently – I've been hard at work at the first part of a trilogy of HP novel-length fics that will eventually intersect with other stories. I'm really and excited and proud and I can't wait to share it with you! I'm planning on releasing it all at once, so hopefully just in time for the holidays.

That being said, I feel horribly guilty for not working on these stories. I know exactly how Wonder is going to end, it's just a matter of taking the time to finish it. Orion's Bane, on the other hand – it was my first attempt at a fic, and I had a rather glorious idea for the main conflict of the plot, but I scripted relationships to happen that just don't feel natural in Forks.

So, here's my idea: How would you feel if I started over? My suggestion is thus: That Hermione leaves London on assignment to get away, that's true, but this time Ginny Weasley is her only companion. Once they get there, madness ensues, and there will be either a Hermione/Wolf or Hermione/Cullen pairing. What are your thoughts and ideas about that? I'd love to hear your feedback, as I feel like that story makes more sense. Granted, it's been done before, but I want to take my shot at it, you know?

Please let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you, and I can't wait for you to see what I've been working on over the next few months.

Love,

Clara


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